Apple is continuing the rollout of Tap to Pay on iPhone, with Japan the latest country to allow small businesses to accept contactless payment without the need for a card terminal.
In addition to expanding into more countries, we’ve also seen increasing opportunities to use the tech for both businesses and customers alike …
Tap to Pay on iPhone
Tap to Pay on iPhone is effectively a 4th generation of card payment tech for small businesses:
- Wired card payment terminals, with rental fees
- Wireless versions, which still had to be rented
- Standalone devices using a Bluetooth connection to an iPhone, with a one-off cost
- Tap to Pay on iPhone
With the latter, there’s no need for any additional hardware of any kind. Instead, the consumer taps their card, iPhone, or Apple Watch against the iPhone owned by the business – though it should be noted that it’s of course limited to contactless payments, which have varying transaction limits which may not be suitable for all companies.
The feature was first announced in 2022, with a gradual rollout in the US through a growing range of payment processors. It later expanded internationally to Taiwan, Australia, the UK, the Netherlands, Brazil, Ukraine, and France
Earlier this year, PayPal adopted the tech for Venmo and Zettle customers in the US.
Japanese launch
Apple yesterday announced that the feature is now available in Japan. The company said that initially it will be supported by three financial services companies:
- GMO Financial Gate Co
- Recruit Co
- Square
Ayden will follow sometime within the next few months.
Tap to Pay on iPhone will also be used in Japanese Apple Stores.
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